And to All a Goodnight
by acciosilverdoe
Summary: When a US Navy Captain is kidnapped just before Christmas, the NCIS team are called in to find him before it's too late. Case-fic.
1. Chapter 1

_Title: And To All A Goodnight_

_Rating: K+_

_Characters: Mainly Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby and Ducky, but Vance makes one appearance._

_Genre: General/case-fic._

_Spoilers/season: Season seven-ish. There's no real pointers as to when it's set. Ziva's an agent, otherwise it could be any time from season six onwards._

_Disclaimer: Anything or anyone you don't recognize is mine, the rest belongs to CBS._

_A/N: My knowledge of the United States Navy is average at best, and therefore I apologize for any errors in ranking. Also, this has been read over but any remaining mistakes are all mine._

_Written for Andi in the NFA Secret Santa Fanfiction Exchange._

* * *

December 23

The NCIS office was almost silent, the only sounds coming from the frantic typing of last minute case reports. It was almost the end of the last official working day before the Chirstmas holiday and everyone was rushing to finish and get home to their families.

Glancing up from his computer for a moment, Tony DiNozzo studied the faces of the agent opposite him. Ziva David was lost in concentration, her eyes darting like lightning from her case notes to her computer screen and back again while her hands danced across the keyboard. Looking to his right, Tony saw the same thing from McGee.

He gave a small smile as he grabbed his report from the printer and took it over to Gibbs's desk, placing the pages down in front of his boss. Gibbs didn't look up but gave a short nod.

"Merry Christmas, Gibbs," Tony muttered before he walked back to his own desk, grabbed his stuff and headed toward the elevator. He hit the down button and waited, one foot tapping the floor impatiently, for the elevator doors to open.

"Wait." Tony closed his eyes for a few seconds before turning back to the bullpen and towards the source of the voice.

"Got a case," Gibbs called out. Tony stared at him, wondering if he was joking, but then, realizing Gibbs never joked about cases, he took a deep breath and made his way back to his desk.

"It's Christmas..." McGee started, but was cut off by Gibbs.

"Captain Stephen Young has been reported missing. According to his wife, he went out to pick up his daughter and son-in-law from the airport last night and never showed."

"You think he was kidnapped?" Tony asked. He'd realized a long time ago that nothing came between Gibbs and seeking justice, not even the holidays.

"Wife claims he's been shifty recently, acting odd, like something's bothering him. And that they've received a high number of hang-ups in the last couple of weeks," Gibbs replied, then turned to McGee. "Get Young's service record up on the plasma."

McGee nodded and turned back to his computer, the service record appearing on the plasma a few seconds later. Ziva stood up and joined them and the three agents glanced over it as Gibbs returned to his desk to answer his phone.

"Gibbs." He stopped for a moment, listening, nodding occasionally. "We'll be right there," he finished before hanging up.

"I know it's Christmas, so the quicker we find Young the quicker you get to go home. Tony, Ziva, I want you two to head over to the house. Mrs. Young just called and there's been a ransom call and I want you there for when the kidnappers call back. McGee and I will head to Young's office and see what we can dig up."

* * *

The roads were full of cars packed with families and gifts so large they often obscured the entire rear window, but Ziva still managed to weave her way through the slew of vehicles to make it to the Young residence in less than fifteen minutes. Not until the car had come to a complete stop did Tony release his grip on the side of his seat; he'd been working with Ziva for over five years and still wasn't used to her alarming driving technique.

As they walked towards the front door, Tony couldn't help but notice the size of the house. It was more of a mansion, really, with four large bay windows along the front ground floor, and at least two floors above. When they reached the door it was swung open and they were ushered inside by one of the NCIS techs.

Caroline Young was a small, slight woman, with dark brown hair that had been neatly clipped up. From a first glance she fitted the classic image of a housewife, with a perfect appearance, but with a closer look the smudged mascara and bloodshot eyes portrayed a much different woman.

Hugging her arms around her body, Caroline described the ransom call to the agents.

"The voice... It wasn't a real voice. I think it was put through one of those voice altering programs because it didn't sound real at all." She paused, taking a deep breath. "He said... I mean, I assume it was a man. It could have been a woman." Another deep breath, this time shaky. "They said that Steve, he would know why they had him. That he had done something to hurt them and he was going to pay the price." She turned away and wiped a few tears from her cheek. When she turned back, she was silent for a few second before continuing.

"They said they wanted money. That it would pay for what he did and if they didn't get it they'd hurt him," she said, her voice breaking at the last three words, but she carried on. "I told them that I'd give them whatever they wanted so long as they didn't hurt him. We have money, and we can get to it fast, all I want is for Steve to be okay." She stopped and when she didn't say anything more, Tony spoke up.

"Did they ask for a specific amount of money?" he asked gently and Caroline shook her head.

"They told me they'd call back. In half an hour." She glanced up at the clock. "That's in five minutes now."

"Okay." Tony nodded and gestured towards the two technicians standing behind him. "These two agents have set up a recording device and tracker on your home and cell phones so when the kidnappers call back, we can listen in to the conversation and try to track their whereabouts."

"The number was withheld. Untraceable," Caroline said.

"We may still be able to track it," Tony replied. "And we'll coach you through the conversation."

"Can I-" Caroline started but was cut off by the sound of the telephone. She looked round at Tony, and then Ziva, a look of panic in her eyes. Ziva nodded.

"It's time."

* * *

_The whole story is completed, so I should be able to upload the next chapter in a day or two. Thanks for reading and, as always, reviews are love._


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs opened the door to Stephen Young's office and stepped inside, making his way towards the desk. He glanced over the desktop quickly, noticing nothing there but a laptop and pens. He moved down to the first drawer, opening it and pulling the contents out and onto the desk. Meanwhile, McGee started sorting through the cupboard.

After half an hour of searching, neither agent had found anything of use. Sure, there were a few letters of complaint from various lower ranking naval officers, but nothing that pointed towards a need for revenge.

"We'll take the laptop back to Abby, see if she can get anything from it." Gibbs stood up, picked up the laptop and walked towards the door.

As they made their way back down the corridor, a man stepped out in front of them. He looked up at Gibbs and nodded.

"You're the NCIS agents?" he asked, looking between the two of them. Gibbs nodded.

"Special Agent Gibbs." He held out his hand, which the man shook.

"Lieutenant Brenner," the man replied, shaking McGee's hand and then turning back to Gibbs. "I heard about Captain Young." He stopped, but Gibbs sensed there was more he wasn't saying.

"There anything you want to tell us, Lieutenant?" Gibbs asked. Brenner looked down for a moment before nodding.

"There was something, sir. Just last week, I saw Captain Young arguing with someone. In his office."

"Any idea who he was arguing with?" McGee asked.

"I didn't recognize him, and he wasn't Navy, but I heard the Captain call him Aaron," Brenner said.

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked, and Brenner shook his head. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

"I'll call Tony," McGee said as they left Brenner and carried on down the corridor. "See if Mrs. Young knows anyone called Aaron."

* * *

Caroline took a slow step towards the phone, her heart beating furiously in her chest. She hated not being in control of her emotions, that she'd almost broken down in front of strangers, but she refused to let the kidnappers know how afraid she was.

After one more ring, she took hold of the phone and pressed it against her ear. She didn't have time to speak before the monotonous voice on the other end started.

"Two million dollors, non-sequential bills. You can do that?" the voice asked. Caroline nodded before realizing they couldn't see her.

"Y-yes," she stuttered. _So much for not showing your fear,_, she thought. She looked up at Ziva who held up a notebook for her to read from. "Where and when?"

"Later. Once you have the money, we will arrange a drop-off. You have three hours." Caroline closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them, the notebook was in front of her again.

"I want to know Stephen is okay," she said quickly, a chill running through her body at having to ask for proof of her husband's life. There was a pause before Stephen's voice could be heard.

"I'm okay, honey." Caroline closed her eyes, relieved to hear his voice, but she opened them again suddenly when she remembered this ordeal was far from over. "Just do what they say. Everything will be okay. I love-" There was a click and the call ended. Nobody moved or said anything for what felt like ages, until a ping sounded from the tech computer.

"You got a trace?" Tony asked.

"Yes, but not an exact location," one of the tech agents replied.

"How big is the radius?" Ziva stood up and walked around to look at the computer screen.

"About a mile. It's good, but it's not perfect. There are at least six warehouses in the area." The tech agent said.

"It's better than we had before." Tony stopped when his phone began to ring. He picked it up and, seeing McGee's name, answered.

"Find anything?" Tony asked.

"No, but we spoke to one of Young's colleagues. Says he witnessed an argument between Young and someone else last week. Someone by the name of Aaron. Does that ring a bell with Mrs. Young?" Tony held the phone away from him and turned towards Caroline.

"Do you know anyone called Aaron? Or did your husband mention anyone with that name?" Caroline thought for a moment before nodding.

"A few weeks back, Steve said something about an Aaron Foxton. I don't know who he is, but he may be a relation of Nick Foxton. Back when Steve was an division officer, he was assigned to lead a group of petty officers, and Nick Foxton was one of them. I'm hazy on the details but there was some kind of accident and Nick and one other petty officer was killed, although some people didn't believe it was just an accident," Caroline explained.

"So if this Aaron is Aaron Foxton, he could be trying to get revenge for Nick's death?" Tony asked, more as a statement than a question.

"I'll call Abby and have her run Aaron Foxton through the database," Ziva said, taking out her phone.

"And ask her to check who owns the warehouses where the phone call was coming from," Tony added, as he picked his phone back up. "You catch that?" he asked McGee.

"Yeah, we're heading back now," he replied, and hung up. 


	3. Chapter 3

Abby Sciuto loved everything about Christmas. The lights, the music, everything. But she didn't like being called back into work when it was almost Christmas Eve.

She turned towards the door as she heard the elevator open, and placed her hands on her hips in her best I'm-not-happy-with-this look.

"I'm sorry, Abs," Gibbs said as he reached her, handing her a Caf-Pow.

"Not good enough. It's Christmas! We shouldn't be working on Christmas." Abby took a sip of the drink before she noticed McGee was still stood by the door. "What's wrong, McGee? Never seen an elf before?"

McGee shook his head but said nothing. Abby laughed and turned to Gibbs.

"I ran the name Ziva had. Aaron Foxton. Turns out he was related to Nick Foxton, one of the petty officers killed in the accident Caroline Young mentioned. They were brothers." Abby stopped to take another sip of the drink, then clicked a few buttons on the keypad to get Aaron Foxton's record on the screen.

"Aaron Foxton, aged thirty-four. Arrested twice for fighting, once on a drugs charge that was later dismissed. Also spent three months in a rehab for alcohol addiction, although one of the fighting arrests came after the stint in rehab and he was drunk when he was arrested." She paused and looked at Gibbs.

"That it?" he asked.

"Nope." Abby shook her head. "Guess what he owns?"

"Don't make me guess..." Gibbs muttered.

"An abandoned warehouse. And guess where that is?" She looked expectantly at Gibbs, who merely rolled his eyes. "Fine. Right smack bang in the middle of the radius where the ransom call came from."

"So it's pretty likely he has something to do with this," McGee said, and Abby nodded.

"Very likely," she agreed. "Also, there's a video uploaded of Foxton while he was in rehab. He seems determined to avenge his brother's death." Gibbs nodded.

"I'll have Ducky take a look, see what he thinks about Foxton." Gibbs reached over and picked up Young's laptop. "Can you look through this, see if there's anything of use on there. We searched his office and found nothing but there may be something."

"Boss, should I stay here?" McGee asked and Gibbs nodded.

"You help Abby, I'll go find Ducky. Let me know if you find anything," he replied and walked out towards the elevator.

"So, an elf?" McGee smirked, until Abby punched his arm. "I like it!" he insisted. "It's cute!" Abby rolled her eyes.

"Just work, Timmy."

* * *

Hanging up the phone, Ziva walked back into the living room. Caroline was sat on the couch, staring forwards, obviously deep in thought. Tony was discussing something with the techs, but stopped as soon as he noticed Ziva walk in.

"Aaron is Nick's brother, and he owns a warehouse near the location of the phone signal," Ziva explained. Caroline stood up and turned to face the agent.

"So it's him? He took my husband because of an [i]_accident[/i]_?" she said, her tone biting.

"It would appear so," Ziva replied, then turned to Tony. "Apparently there was a video of Foxton in rehab, where he said he wanted revenge for his brother's death. Ducky is watching it now." Tony nodded.

"What about finding him?" Caroline cut in. "It seems clear it's him, so why not find him now rather than waste time?"

"Mrs. Young, you need to calm down. We need to have real evidence that Aaron Foxton wanted revenge. He may have been agitated in rehab and said these things on a whim. Once we have a psychological profile we'll have more to go on and we can start looking for him."

Caroline took a deep breath and nodded, then sat back down on the couch. She knew the agents were just doing their jobs, but she was getting more and more worried with every passing minute. She'd called her accountant and explained the situation, and what was needed. He had set about getting the money and was currently ready to transfer it when the kidnappers called back.

But that wasn't for another hour and a half.

* * *

Back at the NCIS office, Ducky and Gibbs sat in front of Abby's computer, watching the video of Aaron Foxton. It was only a ten minute video, but it had a chilling effect on both of them.

"Well, he's certainly determined," Ducky commented. Gibbs nodded.

"Yep, but do you think he'd go through with it?"

"Yes," Ducky said, after a mere couple of seconds consideration. "He wants revenge for his brother's death, that much is clear. And from what he said, it's evident he would do anything to get that revenge."

"But he's asking for money, Duck. Wouldn't he just kill Young if he wanted revenge?" Gibbs asked. Ducky was about to reply when the door swung open and Abby ran in.


	4. Chapter 4

"What, Abs?" Gibbs asked, standing up.

"The father. Peter Foxton. We found nothing on Young's laptop so I started looking through more of Aaron's history. Turns out after Nick's death, their father battled with depression for over a year. He was put on antidepressants after he tried to commit suicide, and he seemed to be getting better, but fourteen months after Nick's death Aaron found his father dead in his home. It was after that when Aaron was arrested the first time and went to rehab." Abby stopped as Gibbs rushed past her towards McGee.

"Let's go, McGee," Gibbs barked, not stopping on his way to the elevator. McGee got up quickly and followed him.

"So it's definitely Foxton?" Gibbs nodded.

"Call DiNozzo. Tell him to meet us up at the warehouse and have Ziva stay with Mrs. Young, in case they call early."

Twenty minutes later they arrived at the warehouse. Tony saw them pull up and got out of his car, running over to join them. He pulled his gun out of its holster and looked to Gibbs for what to do next.

"You and McGee go in from the front, I'll cover the back," Gibbs barked and the two other agents nodded and moved towards the barn, leaving a trail of footprints in the thin layer of snow.

Gibbs moved swiftly to the back of the abandoned warehouse. Noticing a window, he ducked down and slowly lifted himself up to peer inside. The pane of glass was dusty but he could just about make out the figures of three people; two were stood up and one was sat in a chair, his arms behind him. As one of the figures paced across the room, Gibbs noticed something in his hand and, with a closer look, he realized it was a gun.

At the front, Tony and McGee stood on either side of the door, each with their backs pressed against the side of the building. Tony looked over at McGee and nodded, giving the signal to go in. Stepping away from the building, he pulled open the door and strode in, McGee right behind him, both with their guns pointing forwards.

"NCIS, freeze!" Tony yelled, moving sideways so he and McGee surrounded them as best they could. One of the men, the one Tony recognized to be Aaron Foxton, raised a gun towards Stephen Young who was tied to a chair in the centre of the room.

"Move another inch and I'll put a bullet in his head," Foxton warned, keeping his eyes trained on Tony. The other man, who neither agent recognized, started to raise his hands. "No, Mac," Foxton said through gritted teeth.

"But-" Mac started.

"No," Foxton repeated, this time more forceful, his eyes never leaving Tony's. "They won't shoot when _his _life is in danger."

"Put the gun down and let's make this easier for everyone," McGee spoke up, his gun pointing straight at Foxton while his eyes darted between Foxton and Mac.

"What, so you can arrest me?" Foxton shook his head. "No. Here's how this is going to go. One of you will try to outwit me, try your luck at distracting me for long enough to get this gun out of my hand. But that won't happen, because the second either of you moves, the good ol' Captain here will have his brains splattered all over this floor."

"Weird, because I had another idea." Foxton spun around towards Mac, only to find his friend on the floor with his hands on his head and a gun pointing at him. Gibbs looked up at Foxton and smirked. "Surprise."

Tony rushed forwards immediately and grabbed Foxton's wrist, slipping the gun out of his hand.

"Safety was on," he muttered as he holstered both guns and handcuffed Foxton.

Once both men had been handcuffed McGee moved across to Young and gently pulled the duct tape from his face. He then moved behind the chair and untied the rope around Young's wrists. Once free, the Captain stood up shakily and turned to face McGee.

"Thank you," he said quietly, his voice hoarse.

Tony lead Foxton out of the warehouse towards Gibbs's car, and Gibbs followed with Mac. Once both men were inside the car, Gibbs turned to Tony.

"DiNozzo, take Young back home and get a statement." Tony nodded and gestured to Young, who followed him to the other car. Gibbs then turned to McGee. "Let's go."

* * *

It was morning by the time Tony and Ziva got back to the office. They'd taken Captain Young's statement, which didn't tell them much that they didn't already know. He explained more about the accident that had caused the death of Nick Foxton, and that two weeks earlier Aaron Foxton had visited him asking for money.

Walking into the bullpen, the two agents sat down at their desks and waited. Abby and Ducky were still there; Abby was sat at McGee's desk and informed Tony and Ziva that the interrogations were still going on, and Ducky stood between McGee and Tony's desks.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before McGee joined them, pulling a chair from one of the nearby vacant desks to sit next to Abby. He explained that Mac, full name John Mackenzie, was and old friend of Nick Foxton's who was mentally unstable and therefore went along with Aaron Foxton's plan without question.

"So he's going for the insanity defence?" Ziva asked. McGee shrugged.

"He didn't lawyer up. Read him his rights and he just said he understood and told me everything. I doubt he'll find anyone this close to Christmas anyway, but his father is on his way so I'm sure he'll have counsel soon enough," McGee replied.

"Is Gibbs almost done with Foxton?" Ducky asked.

"Yep," Gibbs replied, entering the bullpen and heading straight to his desk. "He admitted it all, saying he just wanted answers about what happened to his brother."

"We spoke to Young about the accident, boss," Tony said. "He insists it was an accident, even showed us the report that was filed on it. There was a proper investigation and nothing was found that could suggest it was anything more than an accident." Gibbs nodded.

"Once he admitted kidnapping Young at gunpoint, Foxton lawyered up. Says he can't afford one himself so we're bringing someone in, but he won't get here until Tuesday at the earliest, so we're holding Foxton and Mackenzie until then."

"So do we need to file a report now or can it wait?" Tony asked, hoping the answer is that it could wait so they could finally get home.

"It can wait." Tony turned around to face Vance, who was walking down the stairs. "Go home, all of you. It's Christmas Eve. The paperwork can wait until next week," he continued before going back upstairs.

Without hesitation, Tony, McGee and Ziva picked up their bags and started towards the elevator.

"See you all on the twenty-sixth?" Ducky asked, causing the three agents to turn back to the bullpen. When they nodded, Ducky smiled. "Good. Boxing Day dinner will be at half four." The agents nodded again and turned back towards the elevator. Once they had gone, Ducky turned to Gibbs.

"And I trust you will be there too, Jethro?" Gibbs hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Of course, Duck," he replied. Ducky smiled again and walked forwards. "Then I'll be getting home." He carried on to the elevator, placing his hat on his head and pulling his coat around him, reading to brace the chill December wind.

"You going home, Gibbs?" Abby asked, standing up and walking to Gibbs's desk. The agent nodded slowly.

"Soon."

"Well, have a good Christmas, Gibbs," Abby said, adjusting her elf costume. She turned and walked away, and Gibbs smiled as he heard her quietly chime, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight."

* * *

_That's all, folks. Thanks etc. _


End file.
